#1 - Dec. 2, 2011, 1:06 a.m.
Blizzard Post
In order to fully test the currency-based auction house, we decided to wipe all characters in the Diablo III beta. This includes gold, achievements, followers, and artisans. We apologize for the lack of notice.

Please don't be alarmed by an empty character selection screen. That isn't an error.

Thank you for continued testing and feedback, and thanks especially for your help testing the currency-based auction house.